In the Wind
by ATTHS
Summary: While on a particularly stressful case, Mulder tries to balance out the bad with some good.


Scully sighed as she crossed her arms, annoyance filling her entire body. She watched Mulder across the wide field with Detective Hannon and as she heard the woman's annoying laugh, she closed her eyes, sighing once more.

_Please let this be good news_, she thought as she rolled her neck, groaning as she heard it pop loudly.

She had spent the past few days in an autopsy bay, and all of her was sore. She was in desperate need of spending a day floating in a bathtub. And if there was a massage directly after that bath, even better.

Not only was she tired, but she had also been eating terribly. Her New Year's resolution had been to attempt to eat healthier when they were out on an assignment. It was always harder to stay on course when they worked late into the night. Everywhere decent closed at a reasonable hour and dead bodies… well, they did not care about that sort of thing.

Leaving the morgue and coming back to the motel late at night, she would pick up greasy cheeseburgers and fries, eating them mechanically as she looked over case notes and photos. Mulder had not been around much, as he was busy in the field, helping Detective Hannon, the lead on this case.

Detective Hannon.

Tall, dark hair, green eyes, and large breasts. Very large breasts.

Since they arrived over a week ago, she had been all over Mulder. She touched him… a _lot_, smiling and laughing at his corny jokes. She continuously brushed her hair back from her face as she pushed out her chest.

Mulder seemed to be completely oblivious, but Scully hated every second she had spent with the woman. She knew she should not feel that way about the detective, but goddamn, she was too much to handle with her advances.

If the body aches from the many autopsies she had performed meant time away from those large breasts and that overly loud laugh, she gladly welcomed it.

"Hey, Scully," Mulder called and she looked over at him with a sigh as he waved to her. Sighing, she began to walk over to see what he wanted.

As she reached his side, he began to show her what he had found, talking excitedly as he pointed to the ground. She squatted down to see it better, and so did Detective Hannon, giving her, and undoubtedly Mulder, a spectacular view of her ample cleavage.

"We need to take an impression of this," Mulder said, pointing to the fresh partial footprint, his eyes on the treads and not the deep valley of pale, perfect flesh. "Perhaps the killer returned, hoping to catch a glimpse of our investigation or this is the point of connection for him. I think this will give us the lead we need." He turned his head and looked at Scully with a grin. "We're closing in on him."

He stood up and looked around the field, as though perhaps expecting to find the killer lurking around and easily identifiable. Detective Hannon stood and took out her phone, calling in a team to come sweep the area once again. Scully stood up slower, the ache in her legs protesting loudly as she did.

She shook her head at how truly unaware Mulder was to the effect he had on women, as she watched Detective Hannon glance his way as she spoke on the phone. He really did not see the way they behaved towards him, trying so hard to get his attention. Shaking her head again, she closed her eyes briefly and crossed her arms.

As she ended the phone call, Detective Hannon smiled, touching his arm as she put her phone in her pocket. "You were right, Agent Mulder. It was a good call coming back here," she said. He nodded in agreement as he glanced over at Scully.

He moved back, the detective's hand dropping from his arm, and he smiled at Scully. "Hopefully this will mean the last of the late night autopsies for you," he said, his eyes kind, causing her to frown. They had barely spoken the past couple of days and here he was showing concern for her welfare.

Not that it was surprising, not really. Considering how she was feeling though, going so far as seeing those large breasts in her dreams, it _did _surprise her. He had been gone and off on the investigation while she was left behind, hardly even connecting once they were back at the motel at night.

"It's been a lot and I know the strain that _one_ causes, let alone… what are we at now, six? Jesus Christ. Six deaths in two weeks." He took a deep breath, shaking his head as he scrubbed a hand down his face.

Now that she looked at him, _really_ looked at him, she saw how tired he was with at least a days worth of scruff on his face, rumpled clothes, and his shoulders slumped. She shook her head as she sighed and put a hand on his arm.

"We're both tired. The sooner we wrap up this case, the better. For everyone," she said softly and he nodded.

A throat clearing caused her to step back and drop her hand from his arm. Turning her head, she looked at Detective Hannon, who had a tight smile on her face.

"So, the team will be here in about twenty minutes," she said, staring at Mulder, her smile softening, almost hopeful.

"That's great. I'm going to catch a ride back with Agent Scully. You said there was something you wanted to show me, right?" Mulder said, turning to look at her, his eyes telling her to agree with him.

"Yeah. Yes… yes there was," she answered and he nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching up, as Detective Hannon sighed rather dejectedly.

"Okay… Well, once the team has checked the area, we'll know more. We really do need this." She sighed once again and Scully felt like shit for all the bad things she thought about her. Until she crossed her arms and those breasts were pushed up once again.

"We'll be waiting to hear what they find," Mulder said, placing his hand on Scully's back and nodding at Detective Hannon.

They walked away from her, neither of them speaking as they crossed the field towards the car. Lost in thought, she did not notice when Mulder fell behind until she arrived at the car and he was not beside her.

Turning around, she saw he was walking towards her with his hands behind his back and a small smile on his face. Frowning at him, she crossed her arms and waited until he caught up. When he did, he remained standing with his hands held behind him.

"What are you doing, Mulder?" she asked, with a sigh, tired and still annoyed. He smiled and she shrugged and shook her head. "Seriously, Mulder, what…" She stopped speaking when he brought his hands forward and she saw what he held in his hand.

A dandelion. Perfectly round and white on a green stem. She looked from it to him and he smiled as he handed it to her with a shrug.

"This case has been shitty. Really shitty," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "We haven't seen much of each other. I'm tired and I _know _you are. We've been stretched thin and… it doesn't make it better, but…" He shrugged again and she nodded.

She looked down at the dandelion, twirling it slowly between her fingers. It brought up memories of sitting in the backyard with Missy as they laughed and made wishes. She looked at Mulder again and he smiled.

"Even with all the late nights though, Scully, I gotta say, I think you've had the better end of the deal," he said, breaking the silence and stepping a little closer to her.

"Oh really? How's that?" she asked, her eyebrows raised, thinking of the cold of the morgue and her tired aching body.

"Well, the morgue is quiet and Detective Hannon… she is _not_," he said, looking around to be sure she did not hear him. "She's a great detective, very insightful and intelligent, but her laugh, Scully…" He grimaced and gave a shudder, causing her to bite back a laugh of her own. He winked at her and she smiled widely, the stem of the dandelion becoming supple in her hand.

"So you _haven't_ enjoyed her company?" she asked, looking at the dandelion, not wanting him to read anything in her expression, to show how she had been feeling.

"It would sound unprofessional if I said _no_, but…" He stopped speaking and she looked up to find him staring at her with a smile. "She's not my partner, so no, I haven't exactly enjoyed her company." She stared back, not sure how to respond. He held her eyes and then nodded to the dandelion.

"Make your wish, Scully."

She kept her eyes on him as she thought of a wish; something not silly or childish like wishes of the past. Looking at him though, all she could think was how she wished to kiss him. Kiss him _again_, actually, as she had on New Year's Eve.

Well… maybe not _exactly_ like that kiss, and definitely _more_ than a kiss. But it seemed like a waste of a wish when she knew he would not refuse her if she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

"And don't wish for something unattainable and unlikely, like world peace, or something like that," he said, breaking into her thoughts and rolling his eyes. "Or wish to meet a fictional character, especially a dead one." He stepped past her and walked around to the driver's side of the car as she remained where she stood.

Looking at the dandelion, she smiled and then raised it close to her mouth as she closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she made her wish and let out her breath, blowing the seeds into the air. Opening her eyes, she watched them dance in the breeze and then float out of sight.

Dropping the stem, she turned around and walked to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Taking the keys from her pocket, she handed them to him as he got in beside her.

"So, what was your wish?" he asked as he started the car. She looked at him with a smile and shook her head. "Really? You're not going to tell me?" She shook her head again and he chuckled. "Okay, then I guess I won't tell you mine." She tilted her head in question and he mimed zipping his lips.

Still smiling, she clasped her hands and lay them in her lap, as she turned her head to look out the window. Detective Hannon stood in the middle of the field, her eyes on them as they began to drive away, no doubt planning her next cleavage attack victim, as Mulder had thankfully escaped a smothering.

Sighing, she looked down at her hands, sobering to the fact that they still had work to do on this case. There were still bodies to autopsy and soon there would be new evidence to investigate.

For now though, a small moment of happiness had been given to them. Glancing at him, she smiled softly, seeing the same smile on his own face.

"Together?" she asked and he turned to her, his expression quizzical, as they slowed down at a red light. "Should we say them together? Our wishes, I mean?"

His eyes travelled across her face, his expression serious, and then he shook his head. "Wishes are supposed to be secret, as they are something we want or desire most. They don't need to be said aloud."

"How will they come true then, if they're never spoken?" she whispered, her heart racing.

"Real wishes, _real_ desires… they will be realized. They don't need to be said," he whispered back, repeating his words, as he stared at her. He suddenly began to lean toward her and she stopped breathing, her heart pounding in her ears.

A horn honking caused them both to jump and he cursed as he turned his attention back to the road, glancing in the rearview mirror, as he drove through the intersection. She smiled as she heard the things he planned to do to the driver who honked if he was presented with the chance.

Turning her head to look out the window again, she sighed and rubbed her lips together, the memory of their kiss still lingering, though months had passed.

Looking at him again, he glanced her way with a huff and a shake of his head, but a smile played at his lips. She touched his arm briefly and he sighed, drumming his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel.

Again thinking of the case at hand, the need to solve it weighing heavily upon them, she sighed as she placed her hand back in her lap, knowing the job came before any real desires could be realized.

_Everything happens for a reason_, she thought, looking at him once more. _Or sometimes nothing happens… but we still need to pay attention to the signs. _

Signs such as, the giving of a dandelion and an understanding of what will happen when the wishes that were wished for, began to come true.


End file.
